Winchester, Nelson and Provisor secure gold, four others to wrestle for titles at Pan Am Championships

Photo of Jacarra Winchester by Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com.

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Team USA has already secured three gold medals after Friday’s morning session of the 2021 Senior Pan American Championships with four other athletes still in the hunt for gold tonight in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Medal matches begin Friday at 7 p.m. ET live on FloWrestling.org.

Claiming Pan Am titles this morning was 2019 World champion Jacarra Winchester at 55 kg in women’s freestyle, 2017 Junior World champion Maya Nelson at 59 kg in women’s freestyle and two-time Olympian Ben Provisor at 82 kg in Greco-Roman.

Jacarra Winchester, the U.S. Tokyo Olympian at 53 kg, moved up a weight to compete in a five-woman round robin bracket. She dominated the competition with three 10-0 technical falls as well as a pin in just over a minute for a perfect 4-0 record. This mark’s Winchester’s first Pan Am gold medal. She also owns a bronze from the 2019 Pan Am Championships.

Wrestling at 59 kg, Maya Nelson, a 2021 Senior Nationals champion, needed two wins to take the crown. She began her day with a huge win, defeating 2019 World champion Linda Morais of Canada with a 5-5 criteria win. In her second match, Nelson was relentless against Karoline Silva de Santana of Brazil with a 12-2 victory.

In Greco-Roman, Senior Nationals champion Ben Provisor went 2-0 in his three-man bracket, collecting wins over David Choc Huoc of Guatemala, 9-0 and Alexis Martinez Sanchez of Mexico, 8-0. This is Provisor’s third Pan Am gold and second in Greco-Roman. He competed both styles in 2018, winning the freestyle division.

Wrestling for gold tonight is Tokyo Olympian John Stefanowicz at 87 kg in Greco, Olympic Trials runner-up Peyton Walsh at 77 kg in Greco as well as 2021 Senior Nationals women’s freestyle champions Jen Page at 65 kg and Alex Glaude at 72 kg.

Stefanowicz and Page are competing in Nordic brackets at their respective weights and will both have rematches in the finals from earlier in the day. Page went a perfect 3-0 in the morning session, while Stefanowicz suffered one loss to Ariel Alfonso Rodriguez of Honduras at the last second. In the finals, the Olympian will face Alfonso Rodriguez once again. For gold at 65 kg, Page will face Ashley Zarate Campbell of Panama, whom she defeated 11-1 in her first match of the day.

Walsh wrestled in an eight-man bracket and collected two wins in the morning session, including an 11-0 tech fall over his Marines teammate Marciano Ali of Puerto Rico as well as an 8-0 victory over Enrique Cuero Ortiz of Ecuador. In the finals, Walsh will face Brazilian standout Joilson de Brito Ramos Junior, who was a 2020 Pan Am finalist.

Glaude, a 2018 U23 World bronze medalist, only wrestled one bout this morning as she is in a three-woman round robin. She dominated returning Pan Am champion Yanet Sovero Nino of Peru with a pin in 25 seconds. Tonight, Glaude takes on Brenda Aguiar Dos Santos from Brazil. Should the American win the match, she will secure gold.

2021 PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Guatemala City, Guatemala | May 27-30

Greco-Roman results
77 kg: Peyton Walsh (U.S. Marines) - FINALS
WIN Ali Marciano (Puerto Rico), 11-0
WIN Enrique Cuero Ortiz (Ecuador), 8-0
vs. Joilson De Brito Ramos Junior (Brazil)
82 kg: Ben Provisor (NYAC) – GOLD
WIN David Choc Huoc (Guatemala), 9-0
WIN Alexis Martinez Sanchez (Mexico), 8-0
87 kg: John Stefanowicz (U.S. Marines) - FINALS
LOSS Ariel Alfonso Rodriguez (Honduras), 4-3
WIN Jose Mosquera Murillo (Colombia), 8-0
WIN Ronisson Brandao Santiago (Brazil), 6-0
vs. Ariel Alfonso Rodriguez (Honduras)

Women’s freestyle results
55 kg: Jacarra Winchester (USOPTC/TMWC) – GOLD
WIN Neidy Vasquez Gomez (Guatemala), 10-0
WIN Dafne Palacios Loyola (Chile), 10-0
WIN Virginie Kaze Gascon (Canada), fall 1:06
WIN Anny Ramirez Perez (Dominican Republic), 10-0
59 kg: Maya Nelson (USOPTC/Sunkist Kids) - GOLD
WIN Linda Morais (Canada), 5-5
WIN Karoline Silva De Santana (Brazil), 12-2
65 kg: Jen Page (Nittany Lion WC/TMWC) – FINALS
WIN Ashley Zarate Campbell (Panama), 11-1
WIN Meiriele Santos Hora (Brazil), fall 1:00
WIN Amanda Savard (Canada), 11-0
vs. Ashley Zarate Campbell (Panama)
72 kg: Alexandria Glaude (Beaver Dam RTC/TMWC) – FINALS
WIN Yanet Sovero Nino (Peru), fall 0:25
vs. Brenda Aguiar Dos Santos (Brazil)